Homeowners and business owners in the Culkin area are going to see their property insurance rates go down, thanks to the efforts of the members of the Culkin Volunteer Fire Department and county fire coordinator Jerry Briggs.

Those efforts at improved firefighter training, improved truck and equipment maintenance, developing a sufficient water supply with well-maintained hydrants and good administration have paid off with Culkin’s fire insurance rating to dropping from Class 8 to Class 6, and that means a big savings for property owners with homes and businesses on their land.

It’s an important achievement for Culkin’s firefighters, because it’s very hard for rural fire departments, which don’t have the manpower, money or sophisticated equipment at their disposal like municipal fire departments, to reach a rating lower than Class 8.

“To have a full volunteer [department] with a rating like that is something to be proud of,” Briggs said.

“For the homeowners that live in the protection district, it means a lot.”

“It definitely feels like an accomplishment,” Culkin Volunteer Fire Department Chief Lamar Frederick said. “We’re probably the only volunteer department, that I know of, in the state that has a Class 6.”

It’s an even bigger accomplishment when you consider Vicksburg has a Class 5 rating, and Jackson and Southaven, which are the highest rated fire departments in the state, each have a Class 3 rating. All three have about 100 or more full-time firefighters, while Culkin has 13 volunteers.

Warren County, Briggs said, has four fire protection districts outside of the city limits — Culkin, Fisher Ferry, Bovina and Eagle Lake — and six volunteer fire departments, when you include Northeast and LeTourneau.

Within the last month, he said, Bovina’s rating dropped from a Class 9 to Class 8, bringing it in line with the other fire districts except Culkin. He believes Bovina can reduce its rating even more within the next six months.

Culkin’s efforts should be applauded, not just by the residents it serves in the county, but by all county residents and officials. It should serve as a model and inspiration for the other volunteer fire departments in the county to move forward and reduce their fire ratings to provide not only lower insurance rates for the property owners they serve, but also provide better fire protection in the future.

“The fire service is definitely improving in the county,” Briggs said.

Let’s hope it gets even better.